Something Wicked This Way Comes

Forgive me, dear internet, for having yet another cliffhanger. I had to finish the post rather quickly this afternoon because I heard that my brother was coming into town and, I'm sorry, but family trumps all. I promise next week you'll find out what it is that the goblins are so afraid of. Until then, have a little bit of François being weird, as he is wont to be.

A dreadful quiet had fallen over the dig site. Amanda could fell the silence pressing on her ears despite the ragged breath she was drawing as she ran full tilt across the site. She only hoped that she could reach the storage shed before too much damage could be done.

As she and Max rounded a corner they were stopped dead in their tracks. In the dim yellow light afforded by a single bulb on the shed they saw the crumpled form of François. Amanda approached him cautiously, in case whatever had attacked him was still lurking in the shadows.  A large, bloody gash at the base of his skull glinted dully in the low light.

“Don’t worry,” Amanda whispered as Max made a worried sound behind her, “he’ll be fine.”  At least, she hoped he would be alright. She had seen him recover from quite a few seemingly fatal injuries; from broken necks to stabbings, François had always smiled lazily and carried on. Amanda shifted her attention to the shed door to stop worrying about François.

A light blinked sporadically behind the door which hung slightly off its hinges. Amanda gripped her tranquilizer gun tightly and wondered for a moment if she needed something a little more potent. Slowly, she pushed the door open and took in the scene before her. Several crates had been smashed and their contents were scattered on the floor.

With a dawning dread, Amanda gazed upon the shattered remains of the funerary bust. There was a small pile of ash among the broken pieces and several little handprints were left in the fine dust around it. Cursing under her breath, Amanda ran to check on the goblins that had been captured earlier.

To her relief, they were all still sitting sleepily in the binding circle Charlotte had laid out. Amanda let out a deep sigh; at least she didn’t have to worry about these goblins. Now she had to track down the ones that had evaded capture.

She returned to François and knelt over him, carefully sliding a lock of hair out of his pale face. As Amanda smoothed his hair back, François drew in a sudden, deep breath and his eyes flew open. In one quick, fluid movement François sat up and stared frantically around him.

"The spirits. They are screaming." François whispered hoarsely. "We've got to find Charlotte before anything happens."

“It is too late for that, I think.” Max was gazing towards the ruined remains of the temple. A bright light was shining through the broken walls and all three heard the chanting that was being born on a sudden gust of wind. Whatever it was they were hoping to stop seemed to have already started.